In A Moment
by YoullNeverKnowMe
Summary: UPDATED 51405! Can two people find each other amist the hurt they are experiencing? Featuring UndertakerOC
1. Default Chapter

_AN:This is another story that has been floating in my brain. Enjoy and review. Vince and the otehrs own everything._

Lilly thought this vacation was so not the good idea, but she could not spoil her best friend Samantha's fun. Samantha had convinced Lilly that a trip to Florida was the perfect way regroup and forget all of her problems, at least for a little while. On top of the beautiful Florida sunshine they had tickets to three WWE events that were being held in the area. Sam thought the prospect of seeing all those beautiful men would cure anything.  
  
Lilly was convinced that nothing could be further from the truth, but Sam just would not listen. Lilly had lost her job, her fianc' and the home that she thought that she would spend the rest of her life in. Lilly had always led a structured life, and had planned her future down to the last detail, and she did not know what to do now that all of her plans had been blown out of the water, so to speak. Unable to enjoy the sunshine on the way to the hotel, all Lilly could do was reflect on everything that had led up to her coming to Florida with Sam.  
  
Flashback  
  
Lilly had been the youngest Sr. Director of Human Resources in the history of Brewer Consulting Company and she loved her job. Unfortunately the company had been having problems recently and the executive board had made an announcement that job cuts would have to be made in order for the company to survive. Lilly was comfortable in her job security, so she was surprised when her boss called her into his office that Thursday afternoon and told her that her job was being eliminated. She was asked to stay on for a week to wrap up loose ends and then she would be given a generous severance package. After the meeting Lilly needed some time to clear her thoughts, so she took the rest of the afternoon off.  
  
All Lilly wanted to do was go home and gather her thoughts and plan what to do next. As she pulled into the driveway, Lilly saw her fiancé Robert's car. She had not expected Rob to be home at this time of day, but Lilly was glad that he was. She knew Robert would be able to reassure her that everything would be ok.  
  
Lilly walked into the house expecting to see Rob setting in the living room watching TV or playing on the computer, but he wasn't there. Lilly could sense that something was not right, but she could not put her finger on what it was. She went in search of Rob and found him in the bedroom setting on the bed surrounded by a number of bags.  
  
"Hey baby, what are you doing? Do you have a business trip?"  
  
Robert looked up shocked to see Lilly standing in the doorway. "Lilly, what are you doing home? I wasn't expecting you to be here this early!"  
  
"I..I was notified today that my job is being eliminated as of next week, so I came home to clear my head. Oh Rob what am I going to do?" Lilly asked as she set down next to Rob on the bed.  
  
"Lilly, I've met someone else. I'm leaving." Rob said as he began gathering his bags.  
  
"What! Just like that?" Lilly asked as she let all of the anger she felt wash over her. "What were you going to do? Leave me a note or a message on the answering machine!"  
  
"Uh! I don't know... I just did not know what to say."  
  
Lilly saw red. She grabbed her purse, "No Rob, you stay here, I'll leave. There is no way that I am going to stay in this house now. Consider it a present to you and your new love. Coward!" Lilly turned and left the house and drove to her friend Samantha's apartment. It was the only place Lilly could think to go.  
  
End Flashback  
  
Lilly came back to the present and realized that Samantha was waiting for her to get out of the cab. The girls gathered their bags and hurried into the lobby of the hotel anxious to check in and get down to the pool for some fun in the sun.  
  
Mark had been looking forward to the shows in Florida for weeks. Good things always happened when he was in Florida. Maybe it was all of the sunshine and beaches—who knows? One thing Mark knew was that he needed something good to happen in his life. The past few years had been spiraling out of control. First he had been somewhat injury prone and had not been able to work on a very consistent basis, then when he did work, he felt like he was lost in the shuffle. Because he had not been able to work consistently, the writers did not develop a solid story line for him, and as a result Mark felt like he was floundering around in no man's land professionally. Luckily, that had changed recently with the return of the Deadman and Paul Bearer.  
  
The thing that had sent him to his lowest though, was the end of his marriage. He had loved Sara with all of his heart. Sure there had been an age difference between him and Sara, but they had connected so well or so he thought. He had learned a couple of weeks ago that he was wrong. As he was preparing to leave home for this latest tour, Sarah was not pleased. Then again, it seemed she was angry all the time now. First, she had been unhappy about his being home and underfoot all the time, now, she was unhappy that he was leaving. She had warned him that if he had left this time, he better not come back. Of course she had made threats before, but had never followed through, so Mark didn't really take her threats seriously this time either. He was shocked a few days ago, when his lawyer called him to let him know that divorce papers from Sara had been delivered to the office. In his heart, if he was honest with himself, Mark knew that part of him was relieved. The tension that had built up in the marriage over the past few months had been unbearable. He was just sad to say that he had failed at marriage for a second time.  
  
Mark was pulled out of his thoughts when the clerk behind the desk handed him a hotel key card. "Here you are Mr. Calloway. Enjoy your stay in Florida." Mark accepted the key and turned around heading toward the elevators. When he turned around he accidentally bumped into a woman who had been standing behind him. He looked up at her and was mesmerized by a pair of hazel eyes. When he looked closely though, he could see sadness in the depths of them that tugged at his soul.  
  
"I'm sorry ma'am." Mark apologized as he snapped out of his reverie. He quickly made his way to the elevator bank.  
  
"Oh my God Lil! That was the Undertaker! We are staying in the same hotel as the Undertaker!" Samantha gushed excitedly. "Hmm. I wonder if we could accidently run into him again later tonight!" Samantha continued to gush.  
  
Lilly was not paying much attention to Samantha at the moment. She was recalling the look in the eyes that she had just stared into. There was something familiar about it. She was overwhelmed by the pull she felt to that man, and it had nothing to do with who he was. Yes she was impressed with that, but the pull she felt had more to do with what she saw communicated in those eyes. Whatever she felt had a strange new effect on her. Suddenly she had a calm feeling, like she was no longer alone in the world. Lilly had no idea whether she would ever see Mr. Undertaker ever again, but she knew that her stay in Florida was going to send her life in a direction that she had never expected. She felt it in her bones. 


	2. Chapter 2

In A Moment Ch 2  
  
_I only own OCs Lilly and Samantha and any other character you don't recognize. Vince owns the WWE.  
_  
Samantha and Lilly quickly made their way upstairs to unpack and relax a little bit before exploring the area. More importantly exploring a spot on the beach where they could relax and worship the sun. As Lilly unpacked her suitcase, she was reflective once again. She had always done what was expected of her. She always made the good grades and went the college she was supposed to. She majored in Business like had been expected of her, and worked her way up the ladder quickly. She had even met and become engaged to the 'perfect man' for her chosen life. She had always played by everyone else's rules and never acknowledged what she really wanted. What if now she decided what was best for her instead of letting everyone else do it for her? It was a frightening feeling yet it was exciting at the same time.  
  
After they had settled in Victoria and Samantha decided to move down to the avenue that ran along the beach. They had seen a row of cute little shops and wanted to explore them. As they walked in and out of the shops along the stretch of road, Sam was still going on and on about their celebrity encounter from earlier.  
  
"I only hoped that we would be able to meet some of the WWE superstars while we were here! I know we didn't actually meet 'Taker, but he is staying at the same hotel. I wonder if we can find out what floor he is on and just happen to stroll up there and accidentally 'bump' into him again? I would love it if we could just accidentally bump into Dave Batista soon. You know he is my absolute fantasy man!"  
  
Lilly looked at Sam and could almost visibly see the wheels turning in her mind. She knew from experience that a plan would soon follow. Lilly usually tried to be Sam's voice of reason and talk her out of whatever plan she had, but today she wondered what it would be like to just let go and follow Sam's lead. Lilly had always felt envious of Sam's ability to let go and not follow the rules. Now she wanted to experience a little of that for herself.  
  
Mark was strolling along the pier looking at the shops and the people around him. He had not felt this relaxed in some time. He knew this brief time alone would not last, he was here to work after all. He just hoped that he would have enough time to himself to be able to take one of his bikes out for a ride along the coast. He looked at his watch and realized he needed to head back to the hotel so he could get his things and head to the arena. Just as Mark rounded the corner of the boardwalk he saw her, the woman from earlier. She was walking along the boardwalk talking and laughing with her friend. Mark was mesmerized. He had noticed that she was a beautiful woman before but she radiated when she smiled. He stopped and watched her talk with her friends for a few moments. He was knocked out of his reverie when he noticed that the woman and her friend had seen him staring. He felt like a hormonal teenager being caught staring at his crush in class. To hide his embarrassment, Mark hurried off to his destination.  
  
"Girlfriend! Did you just see that? The Undertaker was staring at you! You need to do something to get his attention at the show tonight!" Samantha insisted.  
  
"He wasn't staring at me!" Lilly protested.  
  
"Yes. He was Lil. You need to do something about it!" Sam insisted.  
  
"It's too soon after Rob. What do you expect me to do walk up to the man and say 'take me and do with me what you will Master.' That's not me and you know it.  
  
"Lilly Marie! I'm not suggesting that you propose to the man. I am suggesting that you proposition him for a night of hot and nasty sex. God knows you could use it! You said that you wanted to take more chances with you life. Why don't you use this opportunity! And lord knows that man looks like he knows how to satisfy a woman. He looks like he could screw you silly and make you forget your own name."  
  
Lilly knew she was fighting a loosing battle with Sam. She also knew that Sam was right. Lilly had said that she wanted to let go and become more spontaneous. Besides, Mark Calloway was her fantasy man. Lilly had fantasized for years what it would be like to spend the night with him. She made a silent deal with herself; if the opportunity presented itself, she would go for it. "Ok, Sam you win... _If the opportunity presents itself I'll go for it_." Lilly agreed.  
  
"That's the spirit Lil! Just remember to find a way to get me to Batista when the opportunity presents itself." Samantha was sure to remind Lilly. Lilly and Samantha headed back to the hotel to rest and get ready for their first WWE event of the vacation.  
  
The arena was already jammed when Lilly and Samantha arrived an hour before show time. They thought that they would find the wrestlers entrance before the show and see if they could get any pictures. Many people had had the same idea, and it was difficult to find space in the mob. Lilly and Sam were able to get great pictures of Stephanie, Triple H and Vince getting out of their limo. A picture of Trish Stratus and one of Kane.  
  
"He's even scarier in person with no hair and eyebrows. He's so tall!" Sam observed looking at Glen Jacobs.  
  
"He doesn't scare me really. For some reason I think big teddy bear when I look at him. Lilly disagreed. Just as she said that to Sam, Lilly saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. When she turned toward it, she saw Mr. Undertaker staring at her again.  
  
'Someone must be trying to tell me something.' Mark thought as he saw _her _standing there. I keep running into her and then running away. I should do something about it, he decided. Just as Mark headed in her direction, he heard someone call his name.  
  
"Mark, Vince needs to see you right now." The stagehand said.  
  
Mark changed his path and headed in the door. It was not good to keep Vince waiting. As he walked in the door, Mark was wondering if he would see her again, and if he would ever find out who she was.  
  
"I could have sworn he was coming over here!" Sam said disappointedly. "He was looking right at you again Lil." Samantha pointed out. "It's a good thing that we have ring side seats. Maybe you can get his attention then. And maybe I can catch Batista's eye!"  
  
A few minutes later, Sam and Lilly moved to their seats and got settled in. They excitedly waited for the show to start. Neither of them had ever been to a live show before and were excited to actually be at RAW instead of watching it on TV.  
  
The atmosphere was electrifying once the show started. Once the pyro went off signaling the start of Raw Lilly's heart pounded. She could not wait to see these guys in action live! The matches were first rate! She got to see Chris Jericho and Trish trade a few barbs during the Highlight Reel. That was great. Chris had really grown on her in the past year.  
  
The matches that they saw were wonderful too. Eugene beat the Coach. Lita beat Molly. And Evolution mopped the floor with La Resistance. Samantha went crazy during that match screaming for Dave Batista. Lilly could have sworn that she saw Batista look at Sam and smirk. She wasn't sure that it happened; it had happened so fast.  
  
"Did you see that? Did you see that!" Sam jumped up and down "he looked at me!" Sam gushed like a teenager. Just then Kane's pyro went off signaling the main event. It was Kane vs. Taker with Paul Bearer. Kane came to the ring looking as menacing as ever. Then came the Deadman looking equally as evil. It was a great match! Advantage switched hands several times with the match ending in a disqualification when Kane attacked Paul Bearer outside the ring.  
  
Before he left the ring, Mark made a scan of the ringside crowd. It would be too much to ask if he could see her out there, wouldn't it? Just as he thought that, he saw her! She was beaming excitedly at him. Mark wanted to jump down and go to her and find out who she was, but he could not break character. As he gathered up Paul Bearer and headed up the ramp. Mark made a mental note of where she was sitting. Just as he entered the backstage area, he grabbed the nearest security person he could find. He explained what he needed and sent the guard out quickly to grab the women before they could leave. 


	3. chapter 3

Lilly and Sam hang out for a little while after the show and take in all the people and sights around them, plus they wanted to let the mad rush of the crowd die down before they made their way out of the building. Sam was also trying to convince Lilly that they should try to talk their way backstage.

"Come on Lill! It's your chance to meet the Undertaker! I know I could get us back there. Let me try!"

"Not tonight Sam maybe another night. I'm really tired and would like to get back to the hotel." Lilly says getting up from her seat and gathering her things.

"All right. We'll go." Samantha says visibly sulking.

Just as Samantha and Lilly got up from their seats to head for the exit, someone wearing a shirt that read security across the front approached them. "Excuse me ladies. My name is Jim. Would you please come with me."

Samantha and Lilly both turn around and realize that the security guard is talking to them. They look at each other for what seemed like forever but in reality was only a few seconds. Finally Samantha spoke up. "Is there a problem?"

"Uh no ma'am there's no problem, I was just asked to escort you to the backstage area." Jim assured them.

Samantha and Lilly were both intrigued by this and curious to see who asked for them to be brought backstage, and where it would lead. They gather their things and head backstage with Jim. They follow Jim through the maze of equipment and people trying not to get run over by anyone. To see everything going on backstage—all of the equipment and people, it was intimidating. It was amazing to see what it took to put on one show.

Mark showered and changed in record time. He sat down in the dressing room to nervously wait for the security guard to bring the women back. Setting alone in his dressing room just waiting, Mark began to wonder if he was doing the right thing. 'Am I crazy? I just got out of one bad relationship, and here I am already chasing after some mystery woman. That's just asking for trouble. I have to come up with plan B in case this woman was some kind of whack job.'

After thinking a moment, Mark decided if the woman made him uncomfortable after meeting her, he would just give her a few souvenirs and help her get some autographs and send her on her way. WWE security was well trained at keeping the psychos at bay. Unfortunately, he had been forced to take advantage of this skill more than once.

Suddenly, Mark realized that he did not know what to do about the other woman. He certainly did not want to entertain the other one. He wanted to spend his time getting to know his mystery woman without interruption from a third party. Glenn left immediately after the match for vacation or he would just convince him to keep the other woman out of the way for a while. Who else could he enlist? Before he could think of an answer, there was a knock at his door.

Opening the door, Mark finds Dave Batista and Ric Flair standing on the other side. Ric speaks up first

"Hey big man, I heard about a great steak house near here that I was told that was a must try. A group of us are going to head over there in a few minutes. I wanted to see if you wanted to come along."

Mark looked over Ric's shoulder down the hall. He knew that the women would be there any minute. He figured it would be best if he met them alone and then introduced them to everyone else after he made sure that they weren't psycho.

Mark shook his head, "No Ric. I kind of made other plans. I'll have to pass this time."

"Ok man. We won't be leaving for another 20 minutes if you change your mind." Ric says already moving to leave.

"Ok. Catch you guys later." Mark says as he closes the door.

Just as Mark turns to take a seat, there is another knock at the door. He opens it and comes face to face with his mystery woman and her friend.

Jim the security guard had escorted Samantha and Lilly to this door and mysteriously stated that the person who had requested their presence was behind this door. He then walked away leaving the two women standing in front of the door. Sam looked at Lilly and shrugged.

"Well, let's see what's hidden behind door number one. Who's going to do the honors? You or me?"

Lilly felt a strange kind of excitement standing there in front of the door that currently shielded such mystery. She was afraid, excited and exhilarated at the same time. She took a deep breath and said "I will" as she raised her fist to knock. She only had to knock a couple of times before the door was opened. Lilly couldn't believe who was standing before her. Her whole body froze. She was unable to move or speak.


	4. Chapter 4

When Mark opened the door, he was struck speechless for what seemed like minutes. He was totally blown away by the woman standing before him, and he had yet to speak to her. Her physical beauty was amazing, but there was a soothing aura surrounding her that just drew him in. Finally, he realized that he was just standing in the doorway staring at her and he finally spoke.  
  
"Hello ladies. Please come in. My name is Mark Calloway" Mark says moving out of the doorway.  
  
Lilly and Sam move into the locker room without speaking. Both were wondering what the punch line was going to be.  
  
"I bet you ladies are wondering what's going on." Mark states the obvious. "Well, we seem to have ended up running into each other several times today, and I figured that we should at least meet once."  
  
Samantha noticed that the whole time Mark spoke he stared right at Lilly. She was excited for her friend and began plotting in her mind how she was going to excuse herself so her friend could spend some time with the man.  
  
Lilly finally spoke up, "Mark thank you for inviting us backstage. My name is Lilly and this is my best friend Samantha."  
  
"Lilly, Samantha. Nice to meet both of you" Mark says nodding his head. "I know you both are here visiting, since I saw you at the hotel. Did you follow the WWE to Florida, or did you visit Florida and happen to see a show?"  
  
"A little of both actually. We both needed to get away and thought that the Florida sunshine would be a nice break from the Texas heat. Then we found out that the WWE would be here and decided to see as many shows as we could get tickets to." Sam shrugged.  
  
"Where 'bouts in Texas are y'all from?"  
  
"We grew up in Springtown, but live in Corpus Christi now." Samantha volunteered.  
  
The whole time that Sam had been explaining their vacation, Lilly could not help but notice how Mark's well toned muscles moved gracefully under his skin. His whole being exuded power and strength. Looking at him, Lilly had the sudden urge to be taken care of by this man. Not just sexually, but in every way. She felt like she could turn everything including herself over to him and be safe, taken care of and well loved for the rest of her life.  
  
Lilly suddenly realized that she had never felt that way with Rob. With Rob she always felt like she had to be in control and should never lean on him. Rob thought needing someone else to lean on and wanting to be taken care of was the worst kind of weakness. Of course that is until he needed Lilly to take care of something for him that he couldn't be bothered with himself. Then it was ok to lean on her, because after all that is what she was there for right? Lilly also came to the realization as she looked at Mark that she wanted a man to lean on and a man to lean on her more than she had ever wanted any of her past accomplishments. Lilly was drawn out of her thoughts when she realized that Mark was speaking to her.  
  
"Lilly, are you ok over there? We're not boring you too much here are we?" Mark asked cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"No Mark. I guess I spaced out there for a minute." Lilly laughed.  
  
"How would you ladies like a guided tour of what is left after a show?" Mark asked moving to the door. "Is there anyone that you would like to meet?"  
  
Lilly looked at Samantha. She could tell that Sam was biting her tongue not to respond to the question. Lilly decided to throw caution to the wind and push Sam the same way Sam had been pushing her since they had arrived in Florida.  
  
"Sam is quite a fan of Batista. Do you think he may still be around?" Lilly asked glancing out of the corner of her eye at Sam.  
  
"Batista huh? He may still be here. I know that he and a bunch of other guys had made plans to go to a nearby steakhouse. We'll see." Mark said as he led the way down the hall to catering.  
  
"Most of the guys meet in the catering area before heading out. We're heading there right now." Mark explained.  
  
Once they arrived in the catering area, Samantha and Lilly saw a who's who of Raw. Both ladies were in shock. It was kind of a surreal event. Over to one side, you saw the blonde Canadians, Trish Stratus, Chris Irvine, and Jason Reso all talking to one another. In another area, Chris Benoit, Nick Densmore, Shawn Michaels and Paul Levesque were talking. And across the room Vince McMahon and Jim Ross were conversing. Finally, Samantha saw the object of her affection dressed in khakis and a button down dress shirt talking to Ric Flair and Randy Orton.  
  
"We haven't missed them." Mark said gesturing to the group. Leaving the women to one side, Mark walked up to Ric, Randy and Dave. Mark looked at Dave and addressed the small group. "Dave, you have a minute?"  
  
"Sure Mark. What's up?" Dave asked excusing himself from the group.  
  
"Hey, do you have a minute to say hi to someone? She knows that you have plans so you can make a quick exit as soon as you would like." Mark asked and also gave Dave a quick out.  
  
"No problem. Lead the way." Dave said turning in the direction of the two women.  
  
Before the two men made it to the women who were waiting for them, Dave had already noticed the beautiful leggy blonde who was trying to act like she hadn't noticed him. Dave felt an instant attraction to this beautiful woman even before he had met her.  
  
"Dave this is Samantha" Mark said gesturing to the beautiful blonde, "and this is Lilly." Mark added nodding to an equally beautiful red head.  
  
Dave also noticed something in the way that Mark introduced the red head. Dave could tell that there was a spark there. He could tell by the way that the woman looked at Mark that she felt something other than the usual star worship. The woman did not have a look on her face like 'rats' usually did. There was more to it. Maybe the deadman was getting back in the saddle. Dave hoped the best for his friend. "Hello ladies." Dave said smiling. "It's nice to meet you."  
  
Dave stood talking to Mark and the girls for a little while. The more he talked to Samantha, the more that he discovered they were alike, and the more he became attracted to her. As for Samantha, she could not believe how much she and Dave seemed to mesh on so many things. It was also taking all of her strength not to drool at the man standing beside her. He was also even better looking in person.  
  
The group talks for a few more moments before Ric comes over to Dave and tells him that they are heading to the restaurant. Samantha also looks around and realizes that she needs to act fast and excuse herself so that Lilly can spend some time alone with Mark.  
  
While Dave is turned talking to Ric, Sam looks at Lilly and says, "Lill, I'm going to go ahead and head back to the hotel. Exhaustion has just hit me."  
"Oh, I'm sorry Sam. We'll leave whenever you're ready." Lilly responds looking worried.  
  
Sam looked over at Mark and almost visibly saw him deflate. "No, Lil I want to just go to my room and close out the world. That wouldn't be fair to you. Mark, can you get her back to the hotel later?" Sam asks before Lilly could respond.  
  
"Sure. That's no problem. I was actually wanting to stop and get dinner before I go back. Lilly would you like to join me?" Mark asks trying not to look too anxious.  
  
The old Lilly would have headed back to the hotel with Samantha, but Lilly still had the same comforted feeling as before. "Ok, if you're sure Sam." Lilly said looking between Samantha and Mark.  
  
After their good-byes, Samantha excused herself and headed out to the hotel. When she got outside, she was surprised to find Dave also there.  
  
"Hi Dave! I thought you were heading to the restaurant with the rest of the guys." Samantha greeted him smiling.  
  
"I am, but I thought I would see if you really were heading back to the hotel, or if you might be recovered enough to go to the restaurant with me." Dave said falling in step beside Samantha.  
  
"Um. Yeah I think I have made a miraculous recovery! I would love to go to dinner with you." Samantha laughed along with Dave.  
  
Dave reached over and grabbed Samantha's hand. "You thought you would give them a little push huh?" he said raising an eyebrow.

_AN: Ok everyone. Another chapter down. I think (hope) that the writer's block is going away. I hope you enjoy. Please read and review._

__


	5. Chapter 5

Mark and Lilly had left the arena soon after parting ways with Samantha and Dave. Neither one of them had any particular place that they wanted to go, so they decided to head down to the beach and stroll along the boardwalk. They had been walking along the boardwalk for the last hour talking about anything and everything. Mark was shocked at how well they were getting along. He could just imagine how they looked to others along the boardwalk. The beautiful petite woman and the big tattooed wrestler were total opposites to the naked eye, but deep down Mark already felt a connection to this woman and he hoped that she felt the same.

Lilly was also amazed at how quickly she felt connected to Mark. When the pair had first set out to the beach, Lilly was still amazed that she was alone with the Undertaker. The longer that they were alone together, and the more that they talked, Lilly slowly forgot that she was with the Undertaker and thought of him only as Mark. Lilly was totally falling under Mark Calloway's spell. He was smart, funny, gentle but still strong and manly. In short, TOTALLY AMAZING, she thought to herself.

After walking along the boardwalk for a little while, they grabbed some tacos from one of the many food stands, and headed out to the sand to enjoy the night. Once on the beach, the conversation turned to the events that had led each of them to this point in their lives. Mark talked about all of his years spent on the road traveling from town to town. He talked about Sara and his regret at his latest failed attempt at marriage. He also explained what he wanted in a spouse and out of marriage in general, although he had no plans in ever taking that path again.

Lilly for her part, found herself telling Mark her life story, including some hopes, dreams and feelings that she had never shared with anyone—Samantha included.

"My parents had always expected me to be a success in everything I did. They expected me to go to all of the right schools, climb the corporate latter, and most importantly of all marry the perfect man and have perfect babies." She said contemptuously staring out at the water. It felt good to finally let all of this out. She had been holding it in so long.

"My father was even tougher on me after my Mom died. He felt that he had to mold me into this perfect image. I majored in business in college because he wanted me to. Robert was a family friend, and I began dating him at my father's insistence. Hell, he even picked out my future husband for me! When Robert proposed, I already had serious doubts that it was the right thing. I made the mistake of voicing my concerns to Father." Lilly laughed bitterly.

"Saying that my father went off the deep end would be an understatement. He told me that I was just being silly. There was nothing to be concerned about. Robert was the perfect man for me. Of course I would marry him, my father insisted. I was so used to doing what he wanted it never occurred to me to question if it was what I wanted!" Lilly spat now lost in her own thoughts with tears streaming down her face. "I realize now that I never loved Rob. I was just doing as I was told to do, just like I always had."

"I went to see him shortly before Sam and I left for Florida. He was so disappointed in me! He just kept saying what an embarrassment I was to the family name. He even insisted that I go crawling back to Robert and beg for him to take me back. My father never once asked if I was ok, or what I wanted." Lilly said shaking her head. "I finally couldn't take it anymore. I just looked at him and told him that if he wanted Robert back so badly he could crawl to him and fucking apologize. I was tired of playing the little games and trying to fit into what he wanted for my life. I was finally going to figure out what I wanted for myself. I turned around and walked out the door. That was probably the last time I will ever see him. I am sure that my father has disowned me by now." Lilly sighed pulling her knees to her chest.

Mark looked at the woman sitting beside him. He could see the strength that radiated out from her soul and knew that this woman would be able to survive no matter what life threw at her. Seeing this only moved Mark even more dangerously close to falling in love with her.

At that moment, Mark threw his arm around her shoulders, "Darlin', I have no doubt that you will be ok no matter what your father does. I haven't known you very long, but I can see that you would be nothing less than a success even if you chose to sell hamburgers at McDonalds." He assured her giving her a tight squeeze.

"You said that you are tired of doing what others expect of you, and wanted to figure out things for yourself. Have you figured it out yet?" Mark asked gazing into Lilly's eyes.

"Not yet. My immediate goal is enjoying myself while on vacation, and trying to stretch my boundaries while I'm here." Lilly said gazing up intently at Mark.

Looking into Lilly's beautiful face, Mark felt an intense desire to kiss the life out of the woman. "Stretching your boundaries huh? Is there any chance I could help you do that?" Mark asked in an amused tone.

"Most definitely. I am looking forward to stretching quite a few boundaries with you Mr. Calloway" Lilly replied giving him a mysterious smile.

As proof of this statement, Lilly quickly crushed her lips against Mark's initiating an intense kissing session. Mark quickly took control of the situation biting Lilly's lip and urging her to open her mouth and give him entry. Mark used his tongue to caress and explore the warm recesses of her mouth. Using his tongue to draw her into his mouth and gently sucking on it. It was all he could do not to push her down and rip off her clothes and enjoy every succulent inch of her beautiful body. He forced himself to control his impulses as he did not want to scare her away before whatever this was got started.

Lilly had never experienced a kiss quite like this. She had thought she had known what passion was, now she realized she had had no idea. She wanted to give all of herself to Mark, and take all of him at the same time. He made her feel so small yet so powerful with just a kiss. She couldn't begin to imagine what it would feel like if they were to take it any farther. The thought both terrified and exited her at the same time. It felt as if all she had done before was going through the motions.

Lilly and Mark reclined in the sand and continued kissing. Mark let his hands wonder under Lilly's blouse and began caressing her right breast through the silk and lace of her bra. Lilly also let her hands explore the velvet steel of Mark's body. She caressed his back and felt his muscles play under his skin. They were suddenly ripped out of their reverie by voices coming closer to them. They both quickly cleared their heads and set up before they were caught in a compromising position. After the group of people passed just behind them, both Lilly and Mark realized that the earlier mood had been broken.

Mark took a deep breath, "It's late, I guess we better head back to the hotel. I have a radio show early in the morning." He got up and extended his hand to Lilly.

"Yes, I guess we better get going." Lilly agreed trying not to sound too disappointed. The couple headed off of the sand toward the hotel.

"Would you like to meet for breakfast in the morning before I have to leave for the radio station?" Mark asked Lilly hopefully.

"I would love to, but I don't know. I don't want to just take off and leave Sam." Lilly replied.

"I understand. Why don't you bring her along." Mark suggested. He did not want to let her go without getting a promise from her. He was going to see her again one way or another.

"Ok. I'm sure that she would like that." Lilly said smiling.

Mark dropped Lilly off at her hotel door with a smoldering kiss and a promise to meet her in the same spot at 8am the next morning for breakfast. Mark was not a big believer in fate, but he could not help to believe that it was fate that he had met Lilly. As he slipped into bed Mark could feel that Lilly would be a big part of his future.

_Auther's Note: Hi everyone! I'm back! Sorry for the delay in updating. Writer's block and real live prevented me from updating. Thanks so much for the great reviews. They have encouraged me to continue the story._

_As always read and review. I own nothing but Lilly and Samantha._


	6. Chapter 6

Lilly woke up at 6:30 the next morning. She wanted to make sure that she could beat Samantha to the use of the bathroom. She did not want to be rushed in getting ready for her breakfast with Mark. Lilly had to laugh at the thought while she was in the shower. She was acting like this was the date of a lifetime. Well, ok this _was_ a fabulous man who happened to be famous, but she was in no way looking for a boyfriend and a relationship. Lilly finally reasoned with herself that she was putting the extra effort into her appearance just so she would feel good about herself. After all if you look good, you feel good, right?

While she was finishing up, Lilly's mind wondered back to the beach the night before. She was slightly horrified that she had told Mark so much about herself, at the same time, it was kind of a relief to finally tell someone else these things. Mark had not run screaming after all. He had offered her a shoulder, and help in breaking out of the boundaries that she had set for herself. That last part pretty much curled Lilly's toes. She remembered their kissing session and became all warm and tingly again. She wondered if stretching boundaries would include moving on to something more than kissing!

When Lilly walked back into the main room, she saw that Samantha was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. "Morning, Sam. Did you and Batista have a late night last night? I know that Mark and I stayed out pretty late, but I still beat you back to the room." Lilly asked laughing. "Wait. I thought you said you were sick and were coming back to the room last night."

"Lilly Marie, I just told you that so that you would go out and spend some time alone with Mark. I was planning on coming back to the room and just watching TV, but Dave figured out what I was doing and asked me to go to the restaurant with him and the other guys. You know that I could not turn that down." Samantha said looking at Lilly. "Yeah, we had a late night last night, but that doesn't mean it was good. Everything was a disaster!" Samantha moaned.

"A disaster. What happened? I thought Dave Batista was your dream man." Lilly asked concerned.

"Everything started out wonderfully then went down hill from there." Samantha said shaking her head. "We went to the restaurant with the other guys, but there were a group of girls there that came over to the table and practically pour themselves into the guys laps." Samantha remembered with a cringe. "It was like the girlfriends and the wives who were there did not exist. Management did nothing to help. As a matter of fact, the manager never appeared at the table. It took the guys like 30 minutes to get rid of the tramps. By this time none of us were interested in eating there, so we left. Dave and I decided we wanted to go somewhere alone and set and talk, so we headed off on our own."

"Sounds like you guys got things back on track. The rest of the evening was good right?" Lilly asked hopefully.

"From there it was a comedy of errors." Samantha said shaking her head. "From that restaurant, we caught a cab and asked the driver to take us to a local all night diner. The guy either did not understand or was playing dumb because we drove around for another 30 or 45 minutes before the driver miraculously found an all night diner. The fare was ridiculous, but we just shake our heads and walk into the diner. The diner is your typical greasy spoon, but were not looking for four star cuisine. We take a seat in the back and pick up our menus. The waitress comes over to take our order, and just about pees herself when she sees big bad Batista sitting there." Samantha says with a yawn and a stretch. She sees that Lilly about to say something and holds up her hand to stop her.

"I know what you're about to say Lil, and I know that it's part of the territory. I wasn't that upset. It was kind of funny to watch Dave squirm. What wasn't funny is that the woman totally ignored me and I had to remind her three times that I wanted to order. When she did take my order, she got it wrong. I just went with it though."

"Once the food did come, Dave and I had about five minutes of conversation a group fans came into the diner and saw us. The came over and asked Dave for his autograph. By the time that Dave had finished signing the autographs his food was cold. We decided to just take off and head back to the hotel. When the waitress came back to hand us the check, she conveniently spilled a pitcher of water on me as she slipped Dave her phone number and address." Samantha finished.

"Ouch! That was bad. Talk about hell. You have to admit though, when you think about it the whole thing is kind of funny." Lilly tried to point out

"Yeah it is." Samantha agreed smiling.

"Well, all of that happened, but do you like Dave?" Lilly probed.

Samantha smiled. "Yeah I like him. I like him a lot. After we left the diner with me looking like a drowned rat. No pun intended. We came back to the hotel and went back to his room to talk." Samantha looked at Lilly, "now Lil don't go there we did not do anything but talk. It's not that I didn't want to, but this is different. I wanted to take it slow. We talked until Dave realized he needed to get some sleep before an autograph signing this morning. Speaking of which," Samantha said looking at the clock, "he asked me to go with him. I better hurry up and get ready."

Jumping up Sam looked at Lilly, "Sorry to leave you in the lurch, but I really want to give going somewhere with Dave another try. And oh don't think you are getting out of telling me about your evening with the Undertaker missy. When I get back you are going to tell me all about it. Just tell me one thing, did you have a good time?"

"It was fabulous!" Lilly replied beaming. "As a matter of fact, he is picking me up for breakfast in a few minutes."

"Another date. That's a good sign!" Sam exclaimed.

"It's not a date Sam." Lilly deflected.

"Yes it is Lil. All I have to say is have fun!" Samantha encouraged as she disappeared behind the closed bathroom door.

A few minutes later Lilly heard a knock at the door. She opened it to see Mark standing there looking gorgeous as always. Just looking at him made her heart beat faster. "Good morning." She said smiling.

Mark felt like a nervous teenager standing there nervously looking at Lilly. Damn that was sure a beautiful sight to see that early in the morning... Mark stood there speechless and staring for what seemed like an eternity. Finally his brain engaged and he realized that Lilly had spoken and she was standing there waiting for him to respond. "Oh good morning sweetheart! You'll have to excuse me this morning. I'm not quite awake, and it's taking a little time to get into gear." Mark tried to explain.

Lilly just beamed. "Ok, you're not a morning person. Duly noted. Shall we go?" She inquired grabbing her purse.

Mark and Lilly headed downstairs to the hotel's small café. It was not as crowded as they expected it to be and were able to find a quiet booth off to the side. The pair quickly scanned the menu and placed their order.

"So Samantha decided to pass on my invitation for breakfast? Should I be insulted?" Mark asked feigning a hurt expression.

"Yes, she declined the invitation, but don't look so hurt. It wasn't anything personal. She had a better offer from Dave Batista." Lilly explained.

"So she and Dave hit it off huh?" Mark asked.

"Yeah pretty much; although, to hear Sam tell it, they had a pretty challenging night last night. Apparently it was somewhat of a disaster. They decided to try it again this morning. She is going with Dave to his autograph signing." Lilly explained.

"A challenging night? What happened?" Mark asked.

Lilly proceeded to recount the story that Samantha had told her earlier. By the end of the story, both she and Mark were laughing. "Ouch! That sounds terrible. Unfortunately, that kind of thing happens to each of us from time to time." Mark says, "It's a good thing that they are going to give it another try."

"It is. Samantha isn't one to give up easily though." Lilly said thinking of her friend. "If she wants something she goes for it no matter what. She was able to agree with me that looking back the whole thing was kind of funny."

"Yeah it is. Although I'm sure that Dave didn't think so at the time. Here he is trying to impress this woman and everything goes wrong." Mark replies. During the conversation Mark had reached across the table and taken hold of Lilly's hand. They just sat there holding hands and talking oblivious to everything going on around them.

Many other wrestlers had entered the café and noticed Mark setting holding hands with a mystery woman. It was hot conversation over breakfast. Many of them knew of Mark's woman troubles and they were surprised to see him setting and holding hands with a woman so soon after the mess with Sara. Everyone that knew Mark felt that he deserved some happiness in his life after everything that happened. None of them had a clue who she was, but they could tell by looking that Mark was happy with her, whoever she was.

"What are your plans for the day?" Mark asked as they finished up breakfast.

"I'm not sure now. I may wonder down to the beach or do a little shopping." Lilly replied with a shrug.

"Why don't you come with me to the radio show." Mark asked on impulse.

"You want me to go with you to a public appearance." Lilly asked confused.

"It's not really a public appearance. It's just a radio show. You can stay in the background and no one will know that you are there.

"Ok. If you're sure." Lilly agreed. "What kind of radio show is it?"

"Just your standard rock station. The WWE sends us out to promote the show and answer a few questions. It should be easy and only take a couple of hours." Mark explained.

Mark quickly paid the check. He escorted Lilly to the waiting car and they were soon on their way downtown to meet with the radio station representatives.

_AN: Another chapter down. I hope you like. Please read and review. Thanks to all of those who have reviewed! As always I only own Lilly and Samantha._


	7. Chapter 7

Lilly and Mark were on their way back to the hotel from the radio station. The tension in the back of the limo was so thick you could almost reach out and touch it. Lilly was setting on the far side of the seat, as far away from Mark as she could get, looking out the window. She was trying to forget that Mark was even alive much less in the same car.

For the life of him Mark could not understand why Lilly was so angry. He had just answered the question with the first response that had popped into his head. All right, he knew just as soon as the answer had left his mouth that he should not have said it, but he felt that Lilly was overreacting. After all she was a fan right?

"Lilly, I'm sorry that you're angry with me, but for God's sake, it was just the first answer that popped in my head." Mark said shaking his head. "Like I keep telling you I'm sorry. What do I have to do to make you see that?"

"Mark I don't want to talk to you right now. If I were you I would just stay on your side of the car and keep your mouth shut!" Lilly almost shouted.

Mark growled at being told to keep his mouth shut. "What was so wrong with the way I answered the question of who you were? It was just a way to get them off of the subject." Mark said exasperated.

"What was wrong with it? What was wrong with it?" Lilly fairly screamed. "You don't get it do you? Look Mark I know that whatever is going on between isn't serious. I have no delusions of this being anything to build my future on, but just a fan? You might as well have called me a ring rat. Would you like for me to go ahead and strip right now and let you have your way with me? That way you can get what you want and move on to your next victim"

Mark saw red. He had not implied that she was nothing but a ring rat. He had tried to treat her like a lady not a piece of meat. He had grown out of the whole use women like Kleenex phase a long time ago. "Lilly we have known each other less than 24 hours. I just said the first thing that came to my mind. It's really not anyone else's business who you are. What did you expect me to say?"

"I agree that it's no one's business what we are to each other. I also know that we can't really define what we are to each other after barely twenty-four hours, but you could have told them that I was a friend. After all I thought we were at least at that stage." The limo stopped and Lilly fairly jumped out running for the lobby.

Mark caught up with Lilly as she entered the elevator. He quickly pressed the door close button before anyone else could join them. "Lilly I can see your point, but aren't you being a little irrational?" Mark asked.

"Oh now I see. I'm just being an irrational female! I should just smile and keep my mouth shut and let you do what you see fit! I told you the other night Mark; I'm through letting people tell me what to do and what to feel. I'm not going to let you step in and belittle my feelings. I'm going to go to my room. If you know what's good for you, you won't follow me." Lilly stepped off of the elevator with Mark right behind her.

Mark grabbed Lilly's arm and spun her around to face him. "Follow you? You got that all wrong lady. Mark Calloway doesn't trot along behind anyone groveling for forgiveness. I see now. You were hoping that I would just pick up the pieces of your shattered little life and jump when you say jump. Well sweetheart, I've got news for you. I've never danced on command before and I don't plan to now. You just run along and find some other little snot nosed punk to bow to your every whim and forget that we ever met! Oh, and for the record sweetheart, if I had wanted to have my way with you, I could have easily done that last night." With that last remark, Mark turned and stormed down the hall leaving Lilly standing alone.

Lilly was relieved to find that she had the hotel room all to herself. She didn't think that she could face Samantha's bubbly enthusiasm right now. She just needed some time to think. Lilly knew that she had overreacted to what Mark had said, but the way that the guys at the radio station looked at her after Mark had said that she was just a fan made her skin crawl. The whole experience made her feel just exactly like she would when her father or Robert would point out a 'better way' for her to do something that she had not completed to their satisfaction. Lilly had always hated that feeling!

Lilly and Samantha had planned to spend a total of 10 days on the road with the WWE. Right now Lilly wasn't sure if she wanted to spend one more hour here, but she didn't want to pack up and leave without letting Samantha know. Lilly did not feel like setting foot outside of the hotel room, so she decided to rent a movie on the hotel's pay per view system and trying to forget what had happened that morning. Lilly must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew she was waking up to the ending credits of the movie, and Samantha was walking into the room with a look of concern on her face.

"I was wondering if you would still be here." Samantha says when she sees Lilly lying on the bed.

"So you heard." Lilly spat setting up on the side of the bed.

"Yeah. Dave and I were in the car on the way to his appearance when Mark was on the radio." Samantha nods. "How bad was it?"

"Horrible. I kind of went off of the deep end on the way back to the hotel." Lilly replied burying her face in her hands.

"What did Mark have to say about it?" Sam asked sitting on the bed opposite of Lilly.

"He said that a fan was the first thing that popped into his head. That he did not mean anything by it, he was just trying to get them off of the subject because it was no one's business." Lilly sighed with exasperation. "And I agree with him that it's not anyone's business who I am and that we don't have a relationship after twenty four hours, but he could have at least said that I was a friend. You should have seen how the guys at the radio station looked at me after he said that, it was like I was just a piece of meat. I could just hear all of my father's comments about how useless I was echo through my head."

"I'm so sorry I pushed you Lil. I was just hoping that you would take a chance and have a little fun while we were on vacation. I didn't mean to throw you under the bus." Samantha said getting up and moving over next to Lilly.

"It's not your fault Sam. I'm a big girl and make my own choices. You didn't push me into anything I didn't agree to." Lilly said shaking her head.

"What do you want to do now? Do you want to just go home, because if that's what you want, then we will." Samantha asked.

"No! Absolutely not! I am through letting other people run my life. I am certainly not letting Mr. Big Bad Deadman ruin our fun." Lilly said with resolve. It was funny how talking about things with Sam had always helped to clear her mind.

"Besides, I can't take you away from your dream man now can I?" Lilly teased. "And spill girl. Did things go better today?"

"Yes they did! Yes they did!" Samantha giggled with glee. "No drowned rat no fan lap dances! None of that."

"So what happened?" Lilly prompted.

"Nothing much. Just the autograph signing." Samantha replied. "We were only able to actually spend time together during the ride to and from, but watching him with the fans was amazing! Especially watching him with the little children! He's so good with kids."

"Oh and by the way, Dave has arranged for us to be backstage before and after the show," Samantha said excitedly. "And then you can Join Dave and I for dinner after the show."

"No. Now, Sam you don't have to take care of me. I don't want to be a third wheel. I'll go with you backstage, but I won't go with you two to dinner." Lilly protested.

"You won't be a third wheel Lil! It will be a group again I'm sure. Even if its not I could still use an ally after everything that happened the other night." Samantha insisted.

"We'll see." Lilly agreed. After today, Lilly wondered about being back stage that night. To say the least it might be interesting. Well maybe not all she had to do was steer clear of Mark. Surely she would be able to do that, right? She hoped so. Lilly was a little more worried than she would let Sam know, because she knew that another confrontation with Mr. Deadman would not be pleasant, in fact it might be World War III.

_AN: Thanks you guys for all of the reviews. I know that this was probably not what you expected, but drama just poured out of me when I sat down to write this. I hope you enjoy. Please review and let me know what you think Thanks!--T_


	8. Chapter 8

Lilly was a little nervous about tooling around backstage with Samantha. She was really close to not going, but she was bound and determined not to let anything spoil her fun. She was so not ready to run into Mark tonight. It would be a distinct possibility obviously. Lilly was still mad at Mark for what had happened at the radio station, but if she was honest with herself, she could also admit she was really attracted to him also. They might scream at each other but the whole time Lilly would be fighting the urge to leap into his arms and wrap herself around him like a shirt.

Lilly and Samantha rode to the arena with Dave and Randy. Neither one of the women had met Randy yet. He was really different than his on screen character. Off screen he was really quiet, respectful, and sweet. He was also a total hottie. 'Too bad he's not a little older' Lilly thought to herself. If he was a little older Lilly could see herself going out with him, but since he was so much younger it would be a little awkward. It was acceptable for men to date women significantly younger, but if a woman did it she would be looked at as a cradle robber. 'Oh well' Lilly sighed to herself.

Arriving at the arena, Dave and Randy escorted the ladies backstage taking them to the Evolution locker room. Lilly and Samantha were still overwhelmed being in the 'inner sanctum' so to speak, but everyone that they met was fantastic at making them feel welcome. Lilly was a little weary of meeting Ric Flair because of all of the unflattering things that she had heard about him. She was pleasantly surprised to find that he was a very nice man. He won both women over by telling them stories about all of his travels and matches during his many years of wrestling.

Dave, Randy, Ric, and the two women were enjoying a quick bite to eat in the catering area when Stephanie and Paul arrived. As they walked up, everyone could see that Stephanie seemed to be laughing and giving Paul a hard time while he was denying the whole thing. When Stephanie and Paul reached the table they paused their conversation, "Hey guys. Will you please tell Stephanie that I DO NOT spend more time in front of the mirror than any woman." Paul pleads looking at his wife.

"Yes you do and you know it. Now just be a man and admit it. If I hadn't pulled you away from the bathroom mirror we would have been late to the arena." Stephanie reminds him laughing.

Everyone at the table is trying not to bust out laughing. Finally Ric is the one to speak up. "Sorry to break it to you Champ, but your wife is right. You DO spend more time in front of the mirror than either of my wives ever thought about."

"Gee thanks Ric. You are just soo much help." Paul retorts.

"Sorry. Just calling them like I see 'em." Ric says with a shrug.

"Ok, so I admit it. I do look at myself in the mirror, but I'm just trying to look good for my adoring fans." Paul agrees smugly.

"Yeah whatever." Stephanie says rolling her eyes and taking a seat. It was then that Stephanie noticed the two new faces at the table. She recognized one of the women as the one she had heard that Mark had been seen with earlier. She was curious to find out more. Stephanie extended her hand introducing herself. "Hi. I'm Stephanie. I don't believe that we've met."

"Steph, this is Samantha and Lilly." Dave jumped in introducing the women. "They will be visiting with us tonight."

"Oh. It's nice to meet both of you. I hope that you enjoy yourselves tonight." Stephanie says nodding her head. "Lilly I hear that you and Mark have hit it off quite well. I'm surprised that you are not spending time with him." As Stephanie finishes she realizes that everyone else at the table save her and Paul are holding their breath.

"Not likely! I hope never to be around that man again. As a matter of fact I would like nothing better than for him to fall off the face of the earth!" Lilly states contemptuously. Little does she know that Mark is standing behind her within earshot of the conversation. He quietly stalks up be hind Lilly and bends down beside her ear.

"Well, dear I assure you that the feelings are quite mutual. I wish that I had never laid eyes on you!" Mark hisses. "But as you pointed out earlier I was only after one thing, and you were too frigid to give it to me so I'm moving on."

Everyone sitting at the table and a couple of the surrounding tables heard what Mark said and all activity stopped. Everyone waited anxiously to see what Lilly would do in response. Many of them had seen Mark with the woman earlier that morning and word of what had happened during he interview had already made the rounds. For their part Paul and Stephanie were stunned and confused at the turn of events.

Lilly was momentarily stunned and mortified when she realized that so many people had heard what Mark had said. Then she remembered the promise that she had made with herself not to let anyone get the better of her anymore. She jumped up from her seat whirling to face Mark and threw her drink in his face. "Well I just don't have it in me to fall down and spread my legs for a man that has no idea how to treat women. Maybe you should think about the way that you treat women—I mean it's no wonder that your wife left you. The way you treat women leaves many things to be desired. Maybe you should reconsider before it's too late and you end up all alone with your shitty attitude." With that Lilly stormed out of the cafeteria.

Everyone was stunned at the way that Mark had treated Lilly and the way that Lilly had yelled at Mark in return. They had never seen Mark treat a woman that way. Even when Sarah had obviously been cheating on Mark and treating him so badly, Mark had not as much as looked at Sarah cross-eyed. God knows with what that woman had put him through he had every right to treat her horribly.

What Lilly had said had really gotten to Mark. She hit on his deepest fear-- that he would end up a broken down old wrestler with no family to surround himself with. For the life of him, Mark could not figure out what about this woman got under his skin. Mark had never treated a woman this badly in his life, and he did not like himself for doing so now. It just seemed that some unseen force was controlling his brain. Even now when he had been yelling at her, Mark had to fight the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her uncontrollably. The fire in Lilly's eyes when she was angry made her even more beautiful. Lilly was right about one thing; he really had some thinking to do in order to figure out all of the conflicting emotions swirling around in his brain.

Lilly had run out of the cafeteria in anger and in shame. She had never said such things to anyone in her life, and now she was spewing them in front of a crowd of people. When Lilly had said what she had to Mark, she had been angry and hurt at the things that he had said to her. Lilly realized now that she did not mean a word of it deep down in her heart. She had also seen the way that she had hurt Mark with her comments. It had not been glaringly honest but if you looked closely at Mark's eyes for the briefest moment they told how deeply she had hurt him.

Lilly looked up from her thoughts and realized that she did not have a clue where she was. All of the hallways in the arena looked alike. Truth be told, Lilly was glad that she was lost. She was not in any mood to be around anyone right now. Lilly knew she still had about an hour before show time, she decided that she would hide out a little while longer and try to get her head together. Lilly did not like the way that she had been acting or feeling over the last six hours.

Mark had been thinking about the things that had happened with Lilly today and realized that he really wanted to sit down with her and try to talk everything out. He didn't want to start building a relationship with her, but he did want to get to know her better in what time that they had left. He hoped that he could find Lilly and convince her to go somewhere after the show and talk.

Lilly had been wondering around the back hallways for some time and was about ready to find Samantha and the others. Just as Samantha was rounding the corner she ran into the brick wall that was Randy Orton.

"Whoa there. Hey pretty lady I was wondering if we would see you again tonight." Randy said smiling down at Lilly.

"Yeah I had to get away from everyone for a while and get my head together after the little performance in the cafeteria earlier." Lilly said shrugging and looking away.

"Is everything ok now" Randy asked.

"I don't know." Lilly said. "Hopefully it will be. I think that I need to talk to Mark."

"I'm sure everything will be ok. Hey, if you need a shoulder you could always borrow mine." Randy offered giving Lilly a hug.

"Thanks Randy. That's really sweet." Lilly said hugging him back.

Mark had been wondering around the halls trying to run into Lilly and ask her about after the show. Just as he rounded the corner, he saw Randy Orton and a blond in an embrace. When the two of them parted, Mark realized that Randy had been hugging Lilly. 'I guess I'm too late' Mark thought and turned around heading back to his locker room.

_AN: I still own nothing._


	9. Chapter 9

Samantha and Lilly took their seats for the show just before the first match. Because they had gotten to know Dave and the others, the seats had been upgraded to ringside. Samantha had been instantly swept up in the atmosphere, and was jumping up and down cheering like crazy. Lilly barely noticed what was going on in front of her. She was too busy reliving everything that had happened with Mark. She could not help but feel terrible for everything. She knew in her heart that Mark had not meant to hurt her, she could see it in his eyes. Lilly knew for her part that she had been so intent on not letting anyone treat her like she had been treated in the past that she had seriously over reacted. Suddenly Lilly realized that Samantha was talking to her and she snapped out of her reverie.

"Come on Lil it's time for us to meet everyone backstage." Samantha said tugging on Lilly's shoulder.

Lilly looked around and realized that she had been so lost in thought that she missed the whole show. She didn't even remember seeing Mark although she knew he had a match that night. All of that time lost in thought and she still did not know what to do about Mark. She wasn't really mad anymore and she did want to spend some more time with him, but Lilly didn't want to go crawling back to him on her knees begging for forgiveness. She did have some pride after all. With that thought, Lilly followed Sam backstage in search of the others.

Little did Lilly know that Mark was thinking the same thing—How to start over with Lilly without making himself look bad. He knew he had stepped over the line but he still did not want to give in he had done that way too much with Sara, and look where it had gotten him. Mark had seen Lilly at ringside that night. She had looked like she was a million miles away, not even seeing what was going on in front of her. Even now looking at her he felt his heart squeeze in his chest. Mark still did not know what had possessed him to say some of the things he had said to her. No woman had ever stood up to Mark Callaway the way that Lilly had. It had shocked him and made him proud at the same time. After all of the things she had told him about her life the previous night, Mark knew that it was a huge step for Lilly to stand up to him the way she did. He was secretly proud. Now, what to do about getting her to talk to him alone again. He began planning as he walked into the shower room.

Samantha and Lilly easily found Dave and the rest of Evolution, and they were all sitting around debating on where to go for dinner. Samantha had been right when she guessed earlier that it would be a group outing. She had also pulled Dave aside and told him about Lilly's reluctance in being a third wheel. Dave for his part had talked to Ric, Randy and Paul about the group going out so that Lilly would feel more comfortable. After a few minutes the group finally settled on a local restaurant that offered several different types of foods so that each of them would have a choice. The group had made arrangements to meet there in 30 minutes before each of them headed off in different directions to take care of business.

Mark remembered that he had heard Ric say earlier that everyone was going to go out to a restaurant after the show. Mark knew that Samantha would make sure that Lilly went with them, and Mark was going to make sure that he went too. Now he just had to find out where. Mark grabbed his stuff and headed out of the dressing room hoping to find someone who would know where Lilly was headed. As luck would have it he didn't have to search too long. Just as he walked into the catering area he saw Ric preparing to leave.

"Hey Ric, wait up a second!" Mark shouted getting the other man's attention. Catching up with Ric, Mark wastes no time getting to the point.

"Hey I heard you guys were all going out to dinner again tonight. I didn't have any plans so I was wondering if I could join you. Mark casually explained.

"Well Mark we are going to a place down on the beach, but I don't think that it would be a good idea for you to join us tonight." Ric said turning to look at Mark.

"Ric, I know that Lilly will be with you guys. I don't want to cause any trouble. I just want a chance to talk to her. I know that I was wrong. I should have never talked toher like that. I just don't know what got into me." Mark said taking a breath.

"I don't know what's gotten into you either Mark. I do know one thing though I'm not going to let you treat Lilly like you did earlier. That little girl is wonderful and does not deserve to be treated the way that you treated her." Ric threatened.

"I know that Ric. Like I said I don't know what has gotten into me. I've only known her 24 hours yet she gets to me more than any woman ever has, even Sara." Mark admitted being honest with Ric as well as himself.

Ric was momentarily stunned into silence. Mark had _never _been this honest with anyone. If he was willing to be this honest, maybe there was hope for the two of them. Ric knew from spending a little time with Lilly this evening that although she was angry with Mark, she would still be willing to hear what he had to say. "Ok Mark lets go. I will warn you now though, if you hurt that sweet girl again, I will personally kick your sorry ass, and I think that there will be a few more people waiting in line after I'm through with you"

"I know Ric, she is wonderful. I have no intention of hurting her and if I do you have my full permission to hand me my ass on a silver platter." Mark said chuckling.

Ric and Mark was the last to arrive at the restaurant. Everyone else was happily settled in laughing and enjoying each other's company. The two men approached the table unnoticed. Mark quietly observed Lilly as she laughed at something Randy had said. The beauty in Lilly's smile and the sound of her laugh mesmerized Mark. He regretted what had happened so far, and he hoped that he would be able to repair the damage. Saying a silent prayer that he didn't screw up this time, Mark stepped up to the empty chair across from Lilly.

"Excuse me miss is this seat taken?" Mark asked quietly.

_Hello everyone! I'm back. Life was really crazy for me for a long time now. That and another case of writer's block stopped me from updating. I hope to update more regularly now. I hope you are still interested. Please give me feedback. Let me know if I should continue._

_As before, sadly I do not own anyone. (Although I wouldn't mind owning Batista and/or Mark). The people own themselves, and Vince owns everything else._


	10. Chapter 10

"Excuse me is this seat taken?"

Lilly knows who is standing on the other side of the table without even looking—it's Mark. Now that he is here, she isn't so sure that she wants to talk to him. What if he yells at her again? What if she yells at him? That would be fun, play out the whole drama in front of a crowded restaurant. Wait a minute, there's an idea! Put the big dog in his place in front of a restaurant full of people. "No it is not, but I was hoping someone friendly would be sitting there."

"Well I am friendly." Mark says quickly sitting down.

'Oh, so that's how the jackass wants to play it! He's going to pretend that nothing happened and just hope that I fall into his arms! Pig!' Mark gives Lilly the typical male smirk and reaches for the menu. 'Well if that's how he wants to play it then he's on.' Lilly looks at Mark rolling her eyes, and turns back to the conversation at hand.

Samantha and Dave both see Mark smirk and sit down in front of Lilly. Both are instantly concerned with what might happen. Samantha catches Lilly's eye and gives her a questioning look '_are you ok?'_ For his part, Dave may be the new kid on the block so to speak but if Mark so much as makes Lilly look upset he would not hesitate to kick Mark into next week.

Dinner went off without incident. Lilly ignored the big Neanderthal as best as she could. Even though she did not look in his direction, she could feel Mark looking at her from time to time.

Lilly spent a lot of time talking to Stephanie McMahon during dinner. She was pleasantly surprised that Stephanie was nothing like her onscreen character. As a matter of fact, Stephanie was so down to earth, that Lilly found herself telling Stephanie her life story over dinner. Lilly even told Stephanie that she wanted to make a career change, but confessed that she was not sure of what that change would be.

"Lilly, I don't know if this would be what you had in mind, but I'm looking for a 'right hand woman' so to speak. Someone to help me keep everything organized and running smoothly. It would be more than just a secretary though. This person would also have their own projects to oversee among other things. Are you interested?"

"I don't know Stephanie. Wouldn't someone with more experience in the entertainment field be more suited for the position?"

"It's not a position that would require you to write for the shows. You would manage all of the projects, and people. You would also put together various reports, proposals and policies. It would be a lot like your other position in that respect. Also, your HR background and people managing skills would be a huge asset."

Stephanie could see that she nearly had Lilly reeled in so she gave what she hoped was the closer for the deal.

"Lilly from talking to you tonight. I can tell that you are smart, capable and determined. I can also tell from talking to you about wrestling and the WWE that you do love the sport. So you may not know anything about producing a show or the entertainment business, you do know wrestling and you know people. You are also not afraid of putting one of these guys in their place if need be, I have seen that first hand. Please say that you will think about it before you say no. Also, just so you know, if you do take the position you will be well compensated and I'm sure that you would never get bored."

Lilly was intrigued. She did love wrestling, and she did say that she wanted to break out of her boundaries. Lilly also knew a golden opportunity when it was slapping her in the face. Still Lilly was afraid of saying yes right away. Snap decisions are never good.

"Steph, what you are offering is an awesome opportunity and you do make a wonderful case of why I should not say no. Tell you what, can I think about this for a little while and sit down with you tomorrow sometime? I promise you I will have an answer for you then."

"Fair enough." Stephanie agreed nodding her head. "I can understand that this is a big decision to make. Tell you what, meet me in catering at lunchtime tomorrow and we will sit down and talk about it then."

Mark had overheard Stephanie mention something about a job to Lilly as he was pretending to ignore Lilly and pay attention to what Randy was saying next to him. Once Mark realized that Stephanie was trying to talk Lilly into taking a job with the WWE, he definitely became more interested in their conversation. He found himself silently praying that Lilly would take the job. Not only because it would keep her around and hopefully allow Mark an opportunity to redeem himself, but because he knew that Lilly deserved this for herself.

Dinner was over quickly, and everyone gathered to head back to the hotel as a group. Tomorrow was a travel day, and everyone was heading up coast pretty early. In all of the commotion, Mark never got a chance to talk directly to Lilly again. Hopefully tomorrow he would be able to get her alone and convince her to give him another chance.

Lilly's brain was in overdrive on the way back to the hotel. So much had happened in a short period of time, and she was having a little difficulty sorting it all out. Lilly could not believe that Stephanie had made her the wonderful job offer, and she knew now that she had every intention of saying yes. It was just too wonderful of an opportunity to pass up. Then there was the whole issue of Mark.

Lilly had purposefully ignored him at the restaurant and from all appearances he had ignored her too. Looking back on their arguments, Lilly realized that she was somewhat in the wrong each time. She realized that she was so intent on not being anyone's doormat anymore, that she had let her temper get the best of her. What was she going to do to get herself out of this hole with him? That was the million-dollar question.

Once they had gotten back to the hotel, Lilly knew that there was no way that she would be able to go upstairs and relax with everything that was on her mind. She decided to go sit on the beach in front of the hotel, and stare at the ocean for a little while. Lilly quickly told Samantha where she was going so that the other woman would not worry then turned in the direction of the beach.

Mark saw Lilly turn and head down to the beach. 'It's awfully late for her to head down to the beach by herself' Mark thought to himself as he watched her walk away. On impulse, Mark turned toward the beach, and decided to follow Lilly at a distance to make sure that she was safe.

_AN: Thanks to everyone for the wonderful reviews. Sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I am still battling writer's block. I hope that you enjoy this chapter, and hope to update soon._

_Sharnhorst—Thanks for the wonderful reviews. I hope no one starved while you were enjoying the story._

_I still own nothing. Although I would love to own Undertaker or Batista._


	11. Ch 11

_AN: Finally some inspiration! I hope everyone is still interested. Unfortunately I still do not own anyone or anything_.

Lilly slowly made her way down to the edge of the beach. It really was quite peaceful here. She was already feeling at ease. The sound of the waves was so soothing. What a night! A job offer out of the blue, and it sounded so fun. She would be able to work and travel. Best of all it was with the WWE. What more could Lilly ask for? As she had been saying since the start of her vacation, she was tired of following the same path. It was time for a change, and here it was being handed to her on a silver platter! There was no doubt in her mind that she would take the job. She may not have any idea of the whole sports entertainment field and what that entailed, but Lilly was tough and a hard worker.

The only problem was Mark. Lilly could not believe all that had happened so quickly. She really felt bad. It was obvious that Mark was not like Lilly had accused him of being. It just seemed that each time that Lilly and Mark saw each other, they just ended up digging the hole a little bit deeper. 'How can I reverse that?' Lilly asked herself as she sat in the sand looking out at the waves.

Mark sat in the sand a little distance from Lilly. It took his breath away how beautiful she looked setting there in the sand bathed by moonlight. He felt himself drawn to her from the moment he bumped into her at the reservation desk. Mark desperately wanted to put all of the ugliness of the past two days behind them and start over, but he was not sure how to do it. Before he realized what he was doing, Mark slowly headed in Lilly's direction stopping just behind her before speaking.

"You know you look beautiful sitting there."

Lilly jumped when she heard Mark speak. She had not realized that anyone was on the beach with her, and then she momentarily cringed realizing how dangerous that was.

"Oh you scared me! I did not realize that anyone had followed me."

"I know. I saw you head out this direction, and I just wanted to make sure that you were ok." Mark explained sitting down beside Lilly in the sand.

"I'm ok. I just couldn't sleep. I had several things on my mind, and thought that this might help." Lilly said drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them.

"I understand that. I have several things on my mind as well—including you."

"Mark I don't…"

"I don't want to fight with you sweetheart." Mark said interrupting. "Just listen to me for a few minutes and be patient. I'm not always the best at explaining myself."

Lilly silently nodded.

"I'm sorry that I have let my temper get the best of me for the past few days. I admit that I could have handled the radio station situation a lot better than I did. I honestly did not mean anything by it. I just let the first thing that came to mind come out of my mouth. I generally have that problem." Mark paused glancing sideways at Lilly before continuing.

"With the whole thing that happened with Sarah, I have kind of been paranoid about things involving my personal life. I guess I'm afraid to trust anyone or anything. When I heard you talking about me in catering tonight. I guess I just reacted out of fear and hurt. I did not mean to hurt you. I just was not able to stop myself." Shaking his head, Mark admitted the biggest thing of all. "You really hit me where it hurt when you talked about me ending up all alone without a wife or family to share my life with. That is exactly what I am afraid of. I don't want to be that person." Taking a deep breath Mark fell silent.

Lilly sat there a moment totally stunned. She had seen the hurt in Mark's eyes when she had commented about him ending up alone with his bitterness, but she never expected him to admit it out loud.

"Mark the moment I said those things, I knew I didn't mean them. I guess I too have been over reacting to everything as well. I guess I have gone to the extreme after everything that happened with Rob and my father. I know in my heart that you will not end up alone. You will find the right woman and have a wonderful family some day."

"Well it seams that we both have said and done things that we regret. Why don't we just start over fresh as friends and learn from all of this."

"Sure I would like that" Lilly agreed smiling.

"Ok since we are starting over. Hi my name is Mark Calloway. What is yours?" Mark said with a grin holding his hand out for a shake.

Lilly giggled and took his hand. "Hi Mark my name is Lilly. It is very nice to meet you."

Lilly and Mark sat side by side a few moments enjoying a comfortable silence.

Mark was the first one to speak. " Forgive me for asking, but I couldn't help but overhear that Stephanie offered you a job when we were at dinner. I have to know if you have made a decision, and let me say as your friend I think that you have to take this job."

"Yes, she did offer me a job. It's a little out of my field of expertise, but Stephanie was very persuasive, and since you think that I should take the job, I don't possibly see how I could say no." Lilly laughed. "I'm just in shock. It's an awesome opportunity. I love wrestling, and this is a way for me to work with something I love. It almost seems too good to be true.

"Lilly you deserve all of these good things and I for one am very happy that you will be taking the job." Mark said as he moved in to kiss her."

Lilly let herself be swept away in Mark's kiss. The man could truly kiss! Lilly felt herself tingle from the tip of her roots to the tips of her toes. They spent several minutes on the beach entwined in each other's arms just enjoying kissing and feeling each other's bodies pressing against each other before finally coming up for air.

Realizing it was late, Lilly and Mark slowly headed back to the hotel. "I know this is moving way too fast, but I don't want to let you go back to your room. I want to keep you in my arms all night." Mark said as he held Lilly in the elevator.

"Who says you have to let me go?" Lilly asked with a mischievous look as the elevator doors opened.

_Please Please Please review! Let me know if I should continue._


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